SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – The Tri-City Storm (10-17-2) took an early lead and never let up, defeating the Sioux Falls Stampede (20-8-2) 5-1 at the Sioux Falls Arena on Friday night.
Ryan McMurphy scored the Storm’s first and fifth goals to up his season total to five, while Kyle Eastman notched his first goal of the season and goaltender Jacob Johansson made 31 saves in the win.
Tri-City controlled the play in the first period and were rewarded for their efforts, scoring two goals in just 28 seconds to take an early 2-0 lead.
First, Eastman controlled a puck in the offensive zone and left a perfect pass on the doorstep for his linemate McMurphy to bury. Thomas Aldworth picked up the second assist on the first tally of the night.
Then it was Christian Horn who doubled the lead on the game’s next shift taking a pass from forward Garrett Gamez and using a Stampede defenseman as a screen to fire the puck past Sioux Falls goaltender Arthur Brey. This time it was defenseman Kevin Kerr who was credited with the second assist, his fourth helper of the season.
The Storm scored again in the middle frame to make it 3-0 when Eastman found a loose rebound in front of the net and was able to push it home. Patrick Curry and McMurphy got assists after a hard-working shift in which Eastman was rewarded with his first tally of the year in the team’s first game of 2014.
Storm forward Chase Berger made it 4-0 Tri-City early on in the third when he found a rebound in front of the net after a Jalen Schulz shot. The goal gave Tri-City total control of the game, Berger’s fifth tally of the season.
After the Stampede got on the board later in the third on a goal by Keith Burchett, the Storm found themselves killing a penalty when Tory Dello was whistled for boarding.
During the penalty kill, the Storm forwards got pressure on the forecheck in the Stampede end. Austin Poganski won a batte and dropped the puck off for an oncoming McMurphy, who fired a slapshot into the upper left hand corner of the net to extend the lead to 5-1.
The goal was the fifth shorthanded tally for the Storm this season and put the game out of reach for the Stampede.
Johansson got his ninth win of the season and continued his brilliance in between the pipes as Tri-City outshot Sioux Falls 35-32.
The two teams will play again tomorrow night in Sioux Falls at 7:05 p.m.
Tri-City will return home for a pair of weekend games against Omaha and Sioux Falls on Jan. 10 and 11. The Lancers will be in Kearney for a 7:30 p.m. puck drop on Friday night, while Sioux Falls returns for a7:05 start on Saturday.
Notes: The Storm scratched forwards Chris Wilkie, Joey DiBenedetto and Nick Hutchison, along with defenseman Cutler Martin…
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Period
Tri-City – Ryan McMurphy (Kyle Eastman, Thomas Aldworth) 7:58
Tri-City – Christian Horn (Garrett Gamez, Kevin Kerr) 8:26
2nd Period
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman (Patrick Curry, Ryan McMurphy) 5:40
3rd Period
Tri-City – Chase Berger (Jalen Schulz) 3:33
Sioux Falls – Keith Burchett (Zeb Knutson, C.J. Franklin) 8:16
Tri-City – Ryan McMurphy (shorthanded) (Austin Poganski) 10:12
PENALTIES
1st Period
Sioux Falls – Daniel Fritz – (Cross Checking), 2 min, 11:12
Tri-City – Thomas Aldworth – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 16:55
Tri-City – Thomas Aldworth – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 10 min, 16:55
2nd Period
Tri-City – Christian Horn – (Hooking), 2 min, 1:09
Tri-City – Kyle Eastman – (High Sticking), 2 min, 8:52
Tri-City – Nolan Gluchowski – (Interference), 2 min, 13:13
Sioux Falls – Ed McGovern – (Checking From Behind), 2 min, 17:25
Sioux Falls – Ed McGovern – (Checking From Behind) (Misconduct), 2 min, 17:25
3rd Period
Tri-City – Garrett Gamez – (High Sticking), 2 min, 0:56
Sioux Falls – Griffen Molino – (Hooking), 2 min, 1:11
Tri-City – Tory Dello – (Boarding), 2 min, 9:37
Sioux Falls – C.J. Franklin – (Interference), 2 min, 15:14
Power Play
Tri-City – 0/4
Sioux Falls – 0/6
Shots
Tri-City: 12, 11, 12 = Total: 35
Sioux Falls: 11, 12, 9 = Total: 32
Saves
Tri-City – Jacob Johansson – 31/32
Sioux Falls – Arthur Brey – 30/35